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He sat at the table with the indifferent look of the habitual

player upon his cleanly chiselled face But it was plain that his

good fortune stayed at his elbow tonight, for opposite to hi with extraordinary deftness piles of bank-

notes in the order of their value The bank inning heavily

Even as Ricardo looked Wethermill turned up "a natural," and the

croupier swept in the stakes from either side

"Faites vos jeux, messieurs Le jeu est fait?" the croupier cried,

all in a breath, and repeated the words Wethermill waited with

his hand upon the wooden fralanced round the table while the stakes were being laid upon the

cloth, and suddenly his face flashed frouor into interest

Al a five-

louis note was thrust forward between the shoulders of two men

seated at the table Wethermill leaned forward and shook his head

with a sesture he refused the stake But he was too

late The fingers of the hand had opened, the note fluttered down

on to the cloth, the money was staked

At once he leaned back in his chair

"Il y a une suite," he said quietly He relinquished the bank

rather than play against that five-louis note The stakes were

taken up by their owners